It Was Deafening
by Ink Reservoir
Summary: "He's not gonna die in the rain!" It was supposed to be a fun trip, but the weather wasn't on their side, and Neji is afraid of thunder.
1. It Was Deafening

**A/N: I wrote this in the car sometime in July after my family went to an amusement park only for a heavy thunderstorm to kick us out. It was **_**not**_** fun. I've had the headcanon that Neji is afraid of storms for a while, so basically this is Neji in our situation. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**It Was Deafening**

He blinked rapidly and bit his lip so hard he thought it would bleed, shoulders quaking. It was so cold, so so cold. He gripped his shoulders in a failed effort to make himself warmer. He felt so detached from his surroundings, the frigid rain and biting wind almost all he was aware of. Were it not for his brilliant eyesight, he wouldn't have known Tenten was crouching beside him, shakily trying to hold an umbrella meant for one person over the both of them. He opened his mouth to say so-

His eyes squeezed shut and he shook violently, almost toppling over. The deafening thunder was all he knew, and it was going to kill him, he knew it would. The pavement ground scraped his knees as they hit it, but he barely felt it. The lightning, it was so bright and it would strike him. He didn't care what the statistics said about the likelihood of that, because no matter the odds, it really could happen to anyone.

The rumbling stopped and he was still shaking. He tried to look up but his vision blurred, something that never happened unless...

The realization that he was crying only upset him more, and he gasped for air.

"Neji," a voice said and he became aware of the cold hand on his shoulder. "Neji, it's all right."

Oh, that was right. Tenten.

He tried to say something but ended up choking on a sob.

"Shh, it's oka-"

There was another clap of thunder and he forgot what he was doing, hysterical. He fell onto his side, a sharp pain bursting through his ribs but he didn't care. The blood from his lip got in his mouth and it tasted like hopelessness. He realized he was destined to die here, trembling and alone. The water soaked through his shirt and his hair and he felt horrible, as though he had done something disgusting to deserve this.

"Neji!"

What, though?

It had been raining the night his father had-

"Neji!"

He opened his eyes and could only see with a degree of clarity most considered perfect and he could barely understand.

"Neji..." Tenten was pulling him up. He stood uneasily and-

Lightning. He couldn't hear himself scream. It was terrible in its greatness, and he felt himself fall to his knees again. He felt as if there was an earthquake beneath him. It was terrifying, and he was terrified. A Hyuuga had died earlier that year when struck by lightning, as had two other citizens of Konoha, to his knowledge.

He shouted helplessly as he felt his feet lifted off the floor, and he wanted to open his eyes but was scared that he would be blind.

"Shh, Neji, it's okay."

He struggled and realized someone was carrying him. He pushed harder.

"Neji, stop it!"

He didn't.

"Neji! Ugh, Lee, you hold the umbrella, I can't do this!"

It was Tenten. His face flushed.

"Put me down this instant!"

She obliged.

"Goodness..."

She was completely drenched. Lee tried to hold the umbrella over them both but it just wasn't big enough.

"And stop, Lee, it-"

He grabbed onto Tenten's arm and closed his eyes, unsure of whether the liquid streaking down his face was water or tears.

Why was it so loud? His head throbbed, the sound of the thunder replaying over and over in his head. It was-

"Ow! Your nails are so long!"

Tenten.

"C'mon, Neji, stop freaking out!"

He felt frozen in his place, shaking.

"We have to move!"

"I-I c-can't..."

"What do you mean, you-"

"Tenten..." Neji heard Lee's voice. "I don't think Neji-kun will make it to-"

She groaned.

"Neji..."

"I c-can't... just go..."

She put her hands on his shoulder incredulously.

"What do you mean, just-"

He didn't hear the rest of her sentence over the thunder. The storm, was it a storm? He was certain it couldn't merely be a storm, it was a hurricane and hurricanes were worse than-

He was being pushed.

"G-get off, you're colder than I am!"

He stumbled back and almost lost his balance.

"Yeesh, Neji, I get that you hate thunder and-"

"Tenten-chan, perhaps you /should/ carry him-"

"I tried that!" she snapped.

Neji realized his arms had probably been around her waist.

"I'm s-sorr-"

"Save it," she said, then looked back at Lee. "What are we going to do with him?"

"Well, you could carry the umbrella and I could carry-"

"Absolutely not," Neji said.

"But you-"

"No," he said firmly. "Lee, I will not have you carrying me."

Tenten sighed. "What, then?"

"You two go, and I-"

There was a small flash of lightning. He bit his lip again.

"Will remain here and die."

"You're bleeding," Tenten said, concerned.

"That is a terrible plan!" Lee said. "I am sorry, Neji, but we cannot allow you to sacrifice your-"

"He's not gonna die in the rain!"

Tenten smacked her forehead.

"This was supposed to be fun!"

"Yes, but it also was not supposed to rain," Lee said.

Neji was certain that if the lightning didn't kill him, their voices would.

"Anyway, Neji, I believe that this will be necessary-"

"No."

"I'll carry him, then," Tenten sounded aggravated.

"No!"

"Look, it's-"

It sounded like fireworks. The lightning exploded across the sky and the crack of the thunder that accompanied it was so loud, Neji was sure it would split the sky. His eyes closed and he completely lost all his senses. He couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't think. The crippling fear was his only companion, and he was alone. This was for what he had done to Hinata during the Chuunin Exams three years ago. The Hyuuga clan had realized it was worthy of punishment and sent him this-

"...all right?"

"He's fine, he's just..."

"...doesn't seem to be..."

"...hates storms, that's all."

His eyes fluttered open. He could see a neck and some of Tenten's shirt. To the left was orange.

"Well, if you're sure- hey, he's awake-ttebayo!"

It was Naruto. Tenten looked down at him.

"So he is."

He was swaying. There was something supporting him from his upper back and beneath his knees. Was she-

"Tenten!"

"What?"

"Put me down!"

Naruto laughed.

"No!"

"Tenten, I'm not joking."

"Yeah, so? You never are."

He couldn't believe this was happening. He could feel his face turn red.

"I thought you were like, dead," Naruto said. Neji tried to glare at him but a raindrop hit his eye and he shut them, wincing.

"You should go. You don't want him mad at you."

"But he's being so adorable, dattebayo..."

"Still."

Naruto sighed. "Fine..." he went ahead, then called back, "but it looks like he's mad at you, not me!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. Her hair was dripping onto Neji's face. It hadn't yet come loose from the buns but he could tell they wouldn't last very long.

"I'm fine, really..."

"No, Neji."

"Tenten, please..."

"Nope."

There was another crack and he clung to her shirt.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to believe you're fine."

His face was burning with embarrassment.

"Just be quiet," she said.

He finally gave in, annoyed with himself and more annoyed with how wet her shirt was because it was no comfort at all. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was anywhere, anywhere else.

**A/N: At the time I had an idea for a continuation of this, but I know I'm not going to write it. I'll post what I had as a bonus chapter, though! As a side note, another reason I wrote this was to practice writing fear. Hopefully I managed to capture that well with this fic. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated!**


	2. Bonus chapter!

**A/N: This is the bonus chapter. I'm probably not going to continue this. Thank you for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

The storm didn't clear for hours.

Tenten had carried him back to her house, knowing the Hyuuga wouldn't be easy on him if they saw a girl bring him in, even if she was his teammate. He didn't really care and rolled over so he faced the back of the sofa, still shivering. Her windows were thin and he could still hear the storm outside. It was muffled but he still jumped at the thunder. He could feel his hair pulled from under him, then a sigh.

"Sit up."

Neji didn't argue and Tenten wrapped a towel around his hair, arranging it so it was atop his head. He was grateful that she didn't have many windows, staring at the wall behind her.

"The change of clothes you brought for the mission got soaked," she said, breaking the silence. "So you'll have to borrow something from my dad for now."

He nodded.

She moved a neatly folded set of clothes that he hadn't noticed was beside her on top of the sofa.

"They're just pajamas, though."

He sighed.

"You're not going to let me go home, are you?"

"Nope. Not 'til the storm passes, at least, and apparently it's going to go on all night."

"I am not going to sleep here."

"You've been saying you're not going to do a lot of things you ended up doing today."

He glared at her, then noticed that he could see to his usual ability again. Good.

"This is different."

"Nope."

Neji sighed.

"Go change."

He sighed again. "Fine..."


End file.
